Sounds & games

Everything in the box, listed.

23 sounds, 24 blends and 992 words, each one checked so that no practice item sneaks the target sound into the wrong place. Plus 94 listening pairs, and twelve ways to play them all.

The 23 sounds

Listed the way the app lists them: roughly developmental order, earliest-acquired first. Each carries a child-friendly nickname, and the letters show which positions have words — Beginning, Middle, End.

/b/ B M E
The Bouncy Sound 36 words
/n/ B M E
The Humming Nose Sound 36 words
/m/ B M E
The Humming Sound 39 words
/p/ B M E
The Popping Sound 36 words
/h/ B M
The Huffy Sound 22 words
/w/ B M
The Wavy Sound 22 words
/d/ B M E
The Drumming Sound 36 words
/t/ B M E
The Ticking Sound 36 words
/g/ B M E
The Gulping Sound 36 words
/k/ B M E
The Kicking Sound 36 words
/f/ B M E
The Windy Sound 36 words
/ng/ M E
The Ring-a-Ding Sound 24 words
/y/ B M
The Yo-Yo Sound 20 words
/j/ B M E
The Jumping Sound 36 words
/v/ B M E
The Buzzy Sound 36 words
/s/ B M E
The Snake Sound 36 words
/z/ B M E
The Buzzing Bee Sound 36 words
/sh/ B M E
The Quiet Sound 36 words
/ch/ B M E
The Choo-Choo Sound 36 words
/l/ B M E
The La-La Sound 36 words
/r/ B M E
The Roaring Sound 36 words
/th/ · thumb B M E
The Quiet Tongue Sound 34 words
/th/ · they B M E
The Buzzy Tongue Sound 21 words

The 24 blends

Grouped into L, R and S families the way therapists teach them. Blends live at the beginning of a word, so there is no position to choose.

L Blends

6 blends
/bl/ The Blue Blend
/cl/ The Clap Blend
/fl/ The Flying Blend
/gl/ The Glitter Blend
/pl/ The Play Blend
/sl/ The Sleepy Blend

R Blends

7 blends
/br/ The Brave Blend
/cr/ The Crunchy Blend
/dr/ The Dragon Blend
/fr/ The Froggy Blend
/gr/ The Growly Blend
/pr/ The Present Blend
/tr/ The Train Blend

S Blends

11 blends
/sk/ · sc The Skating Blend
/sm/ The Smile Blend
/sn/ The Snail Blend
/sp/ The Spider Blend
/st/ The Star Blend
/sw/ The Swishy Blend
/squ/ The Squishy Blend
/scr/ The Scribble Blend
/spl/ The Splashy Blend
/spr/ The Springy Blend
/str/ The Stretchy Blend

Listening: 14 contrast sets

A second activity for when a child cannot yet hear the difference they are being asked to produce. Two pictures appear, you say one of the words aloud, and your child picks. 94 minimal pairs, indexed by the phonological process behind the error rather than by sound — word level only, and the app still never speaks.

Fronting

12 pairs
/k/ vs /t/ Back sound vs tip sound 8 pairs
/g/ vs /d/ Back sound vs tip sound (noisy pair) 4 pairs

Stopping

13 pairs
/s/ vs /t/ Long snake sound vs quick tap 4 pairs
/f/ vs /p/ Windy sound vs popping sound 6 pairs
/th/ vs /t/ Tongue-peek sound vs quick tap 3 pairs

Palatal fronting

8 pairs
/s/ vs /sh/ Snake sound vs quiet sound 8 pairs

Deaffrication

6 pairs
/ch/ vs /sh/ Choo-choo sound vs quiet sound 6 pairs

Gliding

13 pairs
/w/ vs /r/ Wavy sound vs roaring sound 8 pairs
/l/ vs /w/ Singing sound vs wavy sound 5 pairs

Voicing

15 pairs
/p/ vs /b/ Whispery pop vs noisy pop 6 pairs
/t/ vs /d/ Whispery tap vs noisy tap 4 pairs
/k/ vs /g/ Whispery back sound vs noisy back sound 5 pairs

Cluster reduction

12 pairs
/s/ blends Keep the snake sound in! 12 pairs

Final consonant deletion

15 pairs
Word endings Finish the word! 15 pairs

How any of them can be practised

Three levels

Word One word at a time — “sun”.
Phrase Silly two- or three-word phrases, or plain carriers like “my sail”.
Sentence A full silly sentence, with every target word underlined.

Three positions

Beginning The sound leads the word — “sun”, “soap”.
Middle The sound sits inside — “messy”, “dinosaur”.
End The sound closes the word — “bus”, “grass”.

Twelve ways to play them

Eleven games and one drill mode. All of them read the same word queue, so the choice changes the pictures and the pacing, never the practice.

Snakes & Ladders Practice sounds as you climb! Long, steady sessions — a turn always comes back round.
Racing Game Say the word, move your car! Visible progress; good when a child needs to see the finish.
Feed the Monster Feed it your best words! Simple cause and effect for younger children.
Pop Balloons Pop balloons by saying words! No opponent, no waiting — pure back-to-back trials.
Memory Match Flip cards, find pairs! Slower pace; a breather between productions.
Connect Four Drop discs, beat Buddy! Strategy holds older children who find the rest babyish.
Fishing Reel in a fish with every word! Calm and repetitive; low stimulation.
Tic Tac Toe Stars vs moons — three in a row! Short rounds — finishes before attention runs out.
Kerplunk Pull a stick… hold your breath! Suspense between turns; siblings enjoy watching.
Whack-a-Mole Say it, then bonk the mole! Fast and physical, for wriggly days.
Rocket Countdown Fuel up and blast off! A clear target to work toward in one sitting.
Rapid Drill Fast cards, no game. The most productions per minute — clinic drill, no game layer.

One subscription. Everything in it.

Every sound, every blend, all twelve ways to play, unlimited child profiles. No coin packs, no locked levels, no ads.

$20 a month, or $200 a year · cancel any time

Coming soon!

Subscriptions are not open yet. Gabby is still getting the tills working — email hello@sayandplay.app and we will tell you the day it opens.